ipl-logo

Blood Motif In Macbeth

854 Words4 Pages

Angelina Yang
Mr. Hayes
World Literature I 4/8
16 February 2023
Blood in Macbeth: The Driving Force of Insanity
Blood, whether one sees its scarlet hue or smells its metallic scent, is vital to the body and suffocates the mind. Throughout William Shakespeare’s tragic drama, Macbeth, Shakespeare explores Macbeth, a Scottish nobleman, and his journey after receiving a fateful prophecy, in which he is destined to become Thane of Cawdor and eventual King of Scotland. Shakespeare's deliberate use of motifs throughout Macbeth’s strife, such as blood and sleep, provides a deeper insight into the fascinating psychology of the protagonist, his wife, and several other characters. Through Lady Macbeth’s implied suicide and Macbeth’s descent into madness, …show more content…

Shakespeare employs blood to accentuate how guilt ultimately drives Lady Macbeth’s implied suicide. Between Macbeth receiving the initial prophecy and the death of Banquo, Lady Macbeth does not actively exhibit any remorseful qualities, such as guilt or regret. However, before the final battle, she subconsciously reveals her fears, acting and speaking in her sleep. Holding a taper, she repeats an “accustomed action” of “washing her hands”; she agonizes that her “hands [will] ne’er be clean” no matter what “perfumes of Arabia” she uses (Shakespeare 5.1.24-25, 5.1.37, 5.1.43). Contrary to the once ambitious and assertive character, Lady Macbeth is now plagued by anguish; she stresses that the blood of Duncan, Banquo, and Macduff’s family will never fully wash out–she is unable to cleanse her hands. Her obsessive washing alludes to her subliminal guilt; although she does not express conventional apologetic qualities, she is haunted by her inner turmoil. She not only fears that someone will uncover her schemes but also worries that Macbeth will lose power on the throne. Lady Macbeth …show more content…

As Macbeth approaches the unsuspecting king Duncan, he hallucinates a floating dagger aiming towards the king’s chamber, which he yearns to clutch. In his mind, the “false creation” of the blade is smothered with “dudgeon gouts of blood” (Shakespeare 2.1.38, 2.1.46). The blood-stained dagger, a premonition of Duncan’s death, causes Macbeth to question the border dividing fantasy and reality. The idea of murdering his king frightens him, yet he voluntarily reaches out to the murderous weapon. He proceeds to kill Duncan in cold blood, before realizing the weight of his actions. As he returns to Lady Macbeth, announcing his successful murder, he explains how even the “great Naptune’s ocean” cannot “wash this blood / clean from [his] hand[s]” (Shakespeare 2.2.63-64). In contrast to Lady Macbeth’s subconscious response in Act 5, Macbeth openly displays his guilt, describing how an ocean cannot erase the blood (sins) from his hands–he further goes on to explain how his hands would even stain the water. Blood, in this case, refers to his physical stains as well as figurative guilt. He compares the two to emphasize the magnitude of the mental deterioration; while water can easily remove the stains, it cannot wash away his actions. Despite killing Duncan, he denies the consequences, acting paranoid and becoming increasingly suspicious. His guilt

Show More
Related
145 Words | 1 Pages

In Act 5 we can see Lady Macbeth plagued by sleepwalking fits. During these fits doctors observe her washing her hands from blood, yet somehow no amount of scrubbing can wash it off, implying that no matter how normal she acts, she cannot get rid of the guilt that engulfs her. These actions foreshadow what she says earlier in the play when after Macbeth has just killed Duncan. Macbeth was feeling an incredible amount of guilt and Lady Macbeth implies that all he needed to do was wash his hands and cleanse himself from his guilt, foreshadowing Lady Macbeth not being able to scrub off her guilt. These 2 actions can be interpreted as Lady Macbeth feeling assertive and dominant but soon after descending back into madness as her guilt catches up

Read More
635 Words | 3 Pages

Late in the play, the guilt starts taking its toll on Lady Macbeth: “Out, damned spot! out, I say!... Yet who would have thought the old man to have had so much blood in him” (5.1.39-44). It shows Lady Macbeth’s guilt and how she is constantly tries to wash her hands of the guilt—represented by blood. The power of guilt is shown as it has extreme mental effects on Lady Macbeth, eventually driving her to suicide.

Read More
995 Words | 4 Pages

Duncan announces to Macbeth that he will be staying at Inverness castle. Lady Macbeth and Macbeth plan Duncan’s murder, but before killing Duncan, Macbeth has a vision of a bloody dagger and a conversation with himself where he says, “ I see thee still, on thy blade gouts of blood, Which was not so before… It is the bloody business which informs Thus to mine eyes” (Shakespeare 2.1.57-61). The idea of the bloody dagger is to point out that there is a temptation and a perfect opportunity to kill Duncan. The dagger is a “false creation” that Macbeth creates in his mind and he sees it covered in blood which gives him the confidence to kill Duncan.

Read More
620 Words | 3 Pages

Despite these nagging feelings, Macbeth overrides his emotions, primarily because of his wife, and the fear he felt before haunts him after the crime, closely followed by rising guilt. Shaken and frantic, the killers gaze dreadfully at their blood-covered hands shortly after murdering King Duncan. In lines 43-44 of Act 2 scene 2, Lady Macbeth offers a solution to the sinful mess: “Go get some water, and wash this filthy

Read More
847 Words | 4 Pages

In the scene, Macbeth is being overwhelmed by guilt for murdering King Duncan but Lady Macbeth tells him “A little water clears us of this deed” (2.2.66). When she says this it is solidifying the fact that she only cares about what happens to her and that she does not feel bad about killing anybody, this is because Macbeth was worried about both the consequences and the damage that the guilt will do to his mental health while she just cares about being imprisoned or executed and tells him to wash his hands so that he does not look guilty. Hence, blood is used to show Lady Macbeth's lack of remorse toward the murder of King

Read More
816 Words | 4 Pages

Throughout the play, William Shakespeare presents Macbeth as a changing character; he abandons is morals and becomes a tyrannical leader who leads through violence. We see this through the usage of the motif of blood in the play and how it represents different things as the play progresses- originally it is used as a symbol of chivalrous behaviour. We see this when Macbeth is described to have ‘’unseamed him from the nave to th’ chaps’’; demonstrating Macbeth’s heroic nature. However, it eventually changes to become a symbol of violence and guilt, completely changing from its former symbolic meaning. Our first perception of Macbeth is through the Captain, he is described with the epithet ‘Brave Macbeth’.

Read More
766 Words | 4 Pages

Shakespeare uses blood both metaphorically and physically to highlight the guilt that characters, specifically Macbeth carries throughout the novel. Blood stains serve as a reminder of people’s past evils and should prevent them from committing said evils again, yet in Macbeth’s case he continues to act seemingly without remorse and do whatever needs to be done to become king and maintain his power. When Macbeth first kills Duncan he questions if “all great neptune’s ocean [will be able to] wash [the] blood clean from [his] hand”(ii.ii.78). Shakespeare implies that Macbeth will always be guilty of his crimes and that nothing can rid him of the atrocities that he will commit in pursuit of power. Macbeth’s view directly contrasts with Lady Macbeth’s perspective.

Read More
719 Words | 3 Pages

Taylor Owens Mrs. Dean Literature 22 January 2018 Blood in Macbeth Macbeth is a novel that tells the story of a Scottish general, that receives a prophecy from these three witches saying that one day he will be the King of Scotland. In Macbeth there is many different themes, characters, and symbols that help people understand what happens throughout the story. One of the most important symbols in Macbeth is the symbol of blood, and the symbolism it shows throughout the story. Not only is there the symbolism of blood in Macbeth, but there is also the symbolism of imaginary blood that shows up in the story.

Read More
775 Words | 4 Pages

The somber and repentant tone of Lady Macbeth shows she is a multifaceted character who is tormented by guilt and mental pain rather than being a monster. Although Lady Macbeth initially attempts to convince herself that washing her hands will absolve her of guilt, she becomes increasingly tortured by her conscience as the play progresses. In Act 5, Scene 1, she is seen sleepwalking and obsessively washing her hands, saying, “Out, damned spot! Out, I say!.. One.

Read More
1054 Words | 5 Pages

Here’s the smell of the blood still. All the perfumes of Arabia will not sweeten this little hand. Oh, Oh, Oh!” (Act 5, Scene 1) Though she continuously rubs her hands to get rid of the blood, Lady Macbeth can not washed away the guilt that stains her hands.

Read More
638 Words | 3 Pages

After killing Duncan, he exclaims that he wishes for “all” the water in the “ocean” to “wash” “blood clean from [his] hand” (2.2.60-62). Shortly after, Lady Macbeth replies by saying that a small amount of water can wash away the blood that he sees. However, Lady Macbeth’s opinion changes after Duncan kills Lord of Fife’s innocent family, she starts going psychologically insane. In her sleep, Lady Macbeth constantly washed her hands, trying to get “out” the “spot” of invisible blood on her hand after being reminded of her guilt. Now, she sees the blood just like her husband did earlier and becomes swallowed by guilt from encouraging her husband to partake in these crimes.

Read More
1369 Words | 6 Pages

Shakespeare’s play “Macbeth” explores a man’s fall from morality through committing the act of regicide, as well as ideas of guilt, greed and corruption. A motif of blood is used throughout the play to aid Shakespeare’s character development of Macbeth and it also facilitates further exploration of the figurative moral compass and culpability. Blood is used as a symbol and physical manifestation of guilt within characters throughout the play. Firstly, Shakespeare uses the motif of blood to emphasise the moral deterioration of Macbeth 's character.

Read More
1398 Words | 6 Pages

Shakespeare uses the recurring symbol of blood to emphasize the effect of death and violence on the human psyche. The connotation that Macbeth associates with blood switches from a primary motivator to a guilty reminder. Prior to Duncan’s murder, Macbeth witnessed a floating dagger covered with blood (II.i.33). Macbeth had experienced violence and Blood is also used as a reminder of the guilt and trauma from the murder of King Duncan, the guards and Banquo. Macbeth refers to his hallucination of the ghost of Banquo: “It will have blood, they say.

Read More
473 Words | 2 Pages

Macbeth indicates his guilt when he say’s "Will all great Neptune’s ocean wash this blood Clean from my hand?”(2,2,61-62). He’s meaning if he would ever be able to forget about the deed that he has committed of killing the kind of Scotland Duncan. He also is saying that even the entire ocean could wash his hands clean of the blood. Macbeth feels that what he has done was wrong and shameful.

Read More
1367 Words | 6 Pages

She makes it seem like it is simple to get rid of the thought that he just murdered the King by just washing the blood. While Macbeth inside is suffering from his guilt Lady Macbeth makes seem so effortless and acts like nothing happened. The thought questioning herself of what action she forced her husband to do or get involved in never crosses her mind. She gives him false hope on stating that everything will be fine if he just goes and washes all the blood and act absent-mindedly. Shakespeare is showing that “ cannot commit such crime without undergoing terrible inner torment and triggering self-defeating behavior”( Paris) shows that it is the less external consequences of his crime than the internal deterioration.

Read More

More about Blood Motif In Macbeth

Related Topics

Open Document